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What's the story
11th ranked Light Heavyweight contender, Misha Cirkunov defeated Patrick Cummins via arm-triangle submission in just over 2 minutes at UFC Fight Night 138: Moncton. Cirkunov looked dominant in the fight and handled Cummins flawlessly to possibly secure a post-fight performance bonus.
In case you didn't know
Top 15 Light Heavyweight contenders Misha Cirkunov (11th) and Patrick Cummins (14th) faced each other on the main card of UFC Fight Night 138: Moncton in a fight which could potentially shoot the winner upwards in the rankings. Both Cirkunov and Cummins came into the contest having lost their last fight, with Cirkunov having lost his last two at the hands of top contenders Volkan Oezdemir and Glover Texiera.
The heart of the matter
Misha Cirkunov who trains out of Toronto had the home crowd support on his side coming into this fight. It was all Misha Cirkunov this time around as the Latvian-Canadian controlled the fight from the start bell to redeem himself from his past losses and get back in the win column.
Patrick Cummins got clipped by a counter left hook in the opening seconds of the fight as he tried to press Cirkunov. Cummins immediately went into the clinch, looking to control Cirkunov but hopelessly failed in doing so. Both fighters spent a little under a minute fighting in the clinch pressed up against the cage before Cirkunov circled out and put the pressure on Cummins.
Cirkunov eventually got control in the clinch and ended up taking Cummins down with a beautiful trip takedown and ended up straight in full mount over Cummins. Cummins tried to create a scramble by bridging out with his right hand but the BJJ Black Belt Cirkunov was quick to react and caught Cummins in a swift arm-triangle choke, securing the tap in a matter of seconds.
What's next?
Misha Cirkunov has in all probability propelled himself up the Light Heavyweight rankings with a dominant performance and finish at UFC Moncton. Cirkunov went on to call out no. 2 ranked contender Volkan Oezdemir for a rematch. With Oezdemir defeated in the main event by Anthony Smith, this rematch seems very probable.
